by A Detroit radio news anchor was killed Friday and four others, including two minors, were seriously injured in a domestic dispute.
Jim Matthews, the nightly news anchor for radio station WWJ-AM for nearly seven years, died in the attack, while his 35-year-old girlfriend suffered multiple stab wounds, Chesterfield Public Safety Director Brian Bassett said.
A 10-year-old boy was found tied to a wardrobe with a head injury and a five-year-old girl was also injured in the attack.
The boy is in critical condition, authorities said.
A suspect – a 54-year-old man – was also hospitalized after trying to kill himself after the attack, police said.
According to police, witnesses described a woman holding a small child running from the house “covered in blood.”
After escaping the attack with her daughter around noon, the woman signaled to the driver to call 911.
When police responded to the scene, officers found Matthews dead and the boy tied to a closet with blunt force trauma injuries.
It was unclear how Matthews was killed, as police said no weapons were involved in the attack.
They later found the suspect in the basement with self-inflicted wounds and an apparent overdose.
“Our investigation has shown that this is an isolated tragedy that does not pose a risk to our community at this time,” Mr Bassett said, without elaborating on the nature of the attack or why the boy was tied up.
The officer added that the suspect was known to the victims and was admitted to the home earlier in the morning, although the man’s relationship to the family has yet to be established.
Joe Nicolai, the victim’s brother, said the violence that followed in the home “wasn’t even something you’d see in a horror movie.”
Mr Nikolai said his brother’s girlfriend was “lying in the car park and she was taped up and bleeding”.
“There’s no motive, I don’t know why he was in the house. I spoke to the lead investigator and probably my brother came to the house,” Mr Nikolai told 7 Action News.
And he continued: “He [Jim Matthews] he comes home about 5.30 in the morning and was probably surprised and attacked him, and I believe that [the boy] he was trying to fight this man who attacked and was trying to kill his father, and so [the boy] he ended up injured and tied up and put in a closet.”
Ashley Quigley, identified as their aunt, said in a GoFundMe post that the boy had to undergo brain and ear surgery.
“He has passed both successfully. He is currently still sedated and remains in the Pediatric ICU,” she wrote.
Ms Quigley added: “My husband and I are looking after and advocating for my niece as she goes through the biggest challenge she has yet to face. recovering from a vicious, pointless attack.’
